Rangers
by BrownEyedRose
Summary: The story of Taz and Up, from her fateful Quinceañera all the way past the battles of Bug Planet.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Okay, so... I love Starship (my favorite Starkid show!) and I really wanted to try my hand my writing at writing a longer ff. So.. here it is...

Also, if you want to suggest any titles, please PM me. I'm very, very bad at titling things... Also, there will be Spanish in this, so, I apologize in advance for the terrible-ness of my Spanish. I've only taken it for three months, and it's my third language, so I confuse it a lot with my first languages..sorry!

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN STARSHIP! AT ALL! NOT IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM!

* * *

In the Starship's drop-pod, Up sat across from the tiny girl, whose face and clothes were splattered in blood and dirt.

"So…little lady, what's your name?"

She just glared at him and started to rub the blood that was on her hands.

Up tried again. "So. How old are you?" She gave him another death glare, and this time turned her head so that he couldn't see her face anymore. Sighing, Up tried again. He placed a hand on her arm and opened his mouth. Bad idea. Her reflexes were fast. Before he knew what happened, she had raked her fingernails across his face. Up put his hand to face, and it came away sticky with blood.

He whistled. "You're a fighter, aren't you?" He swore she almost smiled, but it was gone before he could be sure.

With a beeping noise, the pod docked.

"Lieutenant Up? What happened down there?" Commander Tyler stood right where the doors opened.

Saluting, Up answered. "A robot attack on a neighborhood, Sir. Most everybody was at a party. The roots targeted the party. They killed almost everyone immediately. I thought everyone was dead, when I heard someone yelling. In the backyard, the robots had strung up a girl. She was fighting back. In fact, she had destroyed at least two with just a garden stake."

Tyler interrupted Up. "So, this girl. Did they kill her?"

"I was just about to get to that. The robots had hung her up in a tree, and were hitting her with the garden stakes. She was kicking and punching, but she was no match for them. They'd hurt her pretty bad, but she's okay now. In fact, she's in the pod."

"Okay. Let's get her."

Up and Tyler walked into the pod. The little girl was curled up on a seat, asleep, or unconscious or dead. Tyler shot a look at Up. " I thought you said she was okay?" He walked over to the girl, and picked her up. The seat below her was soaked in blood. Tyler put his hand to a tear in her dress, and it came away red and slippery. The girl's face was pale and she was cold. Tyler handed the girl's limp form to Up. "You rescued her. Take her to the hospital wing. She's hurt worse than you thought she was. If she dies, it goes on your record." Up looked horrified. "What?"

"You heard me. You know the rules. If a civilian is rescued, and if they die because of a Ranger's negligence, it goes on their permanent record."

"Negligence?"

"Yes. She should have had medical attention as soon as she was rescued. You didn't provide that."

"But…but…she never said anything about being hurt."

"Did she say anything at all?"

"No…she didn't."

"Up. Where were you?"

"Mexico…ohh…" The reason for the girl's silence was suddenly obvious.

"Yeah, dumbass." Tyler said. "Did it ever cross your thick skull that this girl DOESN'T SPEAK ENGLISH?"

"No." Said Up, fuming as he saluted the Commander. Walking slowly towards the hospital wing, he hissed at the unconscious girl. "If you destroy my permanent record, you're gonna pay."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** I don't own Starship...sadly.. D:

And, I really like writing Taz. Still, please read and review... I'm still not 100% sure how to do this, and your reviews mean a lot!

* * *

It had almost been a week since Up had rescued the girl from the robot attack. In that week, the girl hadn't spoken once. Not even when they brought in a Ranger who spoke Spanish. She had just thrown a lamp at him. The girl didn't let anyone touch her. In fact, she had almost broken the fingers of a nurse who had laid a hand on her arm. Nearly everyone had given up on her.

Everyone except Up.

He had visited her regularly, just to make sure she was still okay. In the beginning, it was because he knew that his permanent record would be destroyed if she died. Then, he began to enjoy her company. She didn't suck up to him like some of the other robot refugees. She didn't try and figure him out. She just sat there in sulky silence, not saying a word. Like normal. Actually, Up found himself sitting by the girl's bed during his breaks, talking to her about anything and everything. He realized she probably didn't understand, but he still talked to her.

And, because he was the only one who would actually put up with the sullen girl, he was the one who was assigned to the task of finding out her name for the G.L.E.E's records.

"C'mon little lady, what's your name?"

She was sitting on a chair, glaring at him.

"Missy, what's your name?"

No answer.

"If you don't answer me in 10 seconds, I'll be forced to put Jane Doe down on your report."

The girl started to spin around in the chair. Still no answer.

"Awww…c'mon. Tell me. You don't wanna be known as Jane Doe for the rest of your life." He momentarily forgot the girl's aversion to being touched and he grabbed her arm so that the chair was facing him again. She looked at his hand on her arm, and quick as a flash punched him in the stomach. Up kept on letting his guard down around her. He needed to stop doing that. She was more dangerous than some of the new recruits.

"Janey, Janey, Janey. What is your real name?"

She rolled her eyes and smirked.

Up was getting angry with her. Why did she think that she had the power to refuse to talk to a lieutenant? Why was she so…so…rude? So stubborn?

"Girl. You tell be your name right now. Now." Up yelled, louder than he meant to. It was almost a scream.

His anger obviously scared the girl. She jolted back, and almost as quickly punched his nose. Hard. This girl was going to be the death of him. Up was almost considering letting her death go onto his permanent record.

"Girl. If you don't tell me your name I'm gonna…I'm gonna…" He couldn't think of a threat strong enough for her.

She smirked again, and started to trace her fingers along a long cut that ran down her neck and shoulder. She had gotten it as a result of the fight at the party.

"You know," Up remarked, "If you weren't so dead-goddamn stubborn, you'd make a good Ranger."

Up sighed and started to write "Jane Doe" on the dotted line labeled name.

"Jou really think so?" A soft voice asked.

"Do I think what?" He answered without thinking. Then, what had happened hit him. "You-you can talk!" He exclaimed.

"No, duh _idiota_." She smirked. "So, jou really think I would make a good Starship Ranger?"

Up ignored her question. "But, we were miming everything so you'd understand! Why didn't you tell us you spoke English?"

"It was amusing." She smiled.

Up was still annoyed with her. "We brought in a Spanish translator!"

"I didn't like his accent."

"Fine. So, could you tell me what your name is?"

"Taz."

Go figure. This girl would give him one name, and make him guess the surname. Brilliant. "Could I have your last name too?"

"No. It's just Taz."

Up grinned despite himself. She was annoying, stubborn, even downright rude sometimes. But, for some reason, he found himself liking her. She wasn't like anyone he'd ever met. And, he doubted he'd meet someone like her again.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: A friend of mine suggested I add something between Chapters 2 and 3.. so here it is!

Disclaimer: Still don't own Starship...

* * *

The cafeteria was full of people, from the youngest child to elders. Taz kept her head down and didn't talk to anyone. All the other girls her age had given up on getting her to talk about make-up and boys. The adult refugees saw her as being ungrateful for the kindness shown to her by the G.L.E.E. The only people who would talk to her were the guys, and they only spoke to her to tease and laugh at her.

"Hey! Taz!" Someone called, voice mocking. She ignored it, and kept walking towards the corner where she usually ate. "Taz!" She started to walk faster, staring straight ahead. Suddenly, she found herself sprawled on the floor, with James, her main tormentor standing above her.

"Awww… poor wittle Tazzy. Tripped over her own feet." He said in a baby voice. "Scrawny bitches like you have no right to be even on a Starship. You belong in the kitchen, or some other shit like that."

"Get the fuck away from me." Taz hissed.

"Calm down babe. If you just tried a little harder, you'd be maybe a seven. But, it's obvious that bitchy little Taz doesn't give a shit."

_Don't fight him, let him be, just get up and go. _Taz thought, as her hands curled into fists.

"You hear me, bitch? Get…" He couldn't finish his sentence. With an angry shout, Taz jumped up and onto James's back. Tightening her arms around his neck, she whispered into his ear, "Who's the scrawny bitch now? Jou?" Then, a sensation of falling. James's friend had grabbed her and thrown her off his friend's back. Taz fell to the ground hitting her head. The friend and James high-fived each other and then leaned over her. She screamed again, and kicked the friend hard in the face. He was thrown off, and staggered backwards. Taz got back on her feet and punched him in the face. By this time, a large group of kids had gathered around them, all yelling and cheering. One jumped in, and started to pull Taz's hair and kick at her feet, obviously trying to trip her.

_If they're going to try and beat me up, they could at least find better fighters_. She spun on her heel and punched the kid in the stomach. He stumbled back a couple steps, and fell. Taz grinned, despite herself. In that second, she let down her guard, and James jumped on her from behind. He was easily a foot taller than her, so when he landed on her back, she promptly fell on her face. James was on her back, holding her to the floor.

"Want to give up, bitch?"

Taz quickly considered what she could do. She could struggle, she could give up…or…or…she chose the third option.

She started to cry. James jumped up and backed away.

"Shit. Shit. Oh deadgod. Shit. Taz. I'm sorry. Really. You okay?"

Taz stood up, pretending to wipe tears off her face. James walked over to her, and in a quick motion, she reached up and put him into a headlock. Then, before he could try and duck out of the headlock, Taz pulled her switchblade out of her boot.

"Jou leave me alone jou _hijo de puta_. If jou say that I am weak, that I am a bitch one more time, I will make sure jou will not get back down to earth, _¿entienda?_ Cause, if I am a weak bitch, then jou just got beat up by a weak bitch. And jou don't want that, _¿correcto? _So, jou apologize. Now."

James's voice had gotten higher. Almost like a little girl's. "No. No. No, I'm sorry. I promise. Please let me go Taz." He whined.

She wanted to do more. Cut his face. Or his back. But, at that moment, an angry voice cut across the room.

"Miss Taz. Come here. Right now."

Taz sighed, and let James fall to the ground, whimpering. Shoving the knife into her boot again, she stomped across the room to where a furious looking Ranger was standing.

"What?"

The woman looked at her with disgust. "Come with me."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I still don't own Starship...

And, I still really appreciate reviews. I just got on summer holiday, so I can probably continue updating on a fairly regular basis, until I go away..

* * *

For the third time in a week, Taz found herself sitting in front of the Head Commander of the Civilian Affairs on the Starship.

"Miss Taz. We have gotten another report of a fight breaking out in the cafeteria." The Commander said with a sigh. "Would you happen to know anything about it?"

Taz shrugged, the motion causing her still broken ribs to sting. "I know a little, _sí_."

"Miss Taz, there are…" The commander paused to check a fact on a sheet of paper, "Around 50 witnesses that all say that you started the fight. Would you like to tell me anything?"

"No."

The commander's voice became harsher, and she slammed her fist on the desk. "Taz. When I say 'would you like to?' it's a polite way of saying 'tell me now if you know what's good for you.' So, if you want to stay on this Starship for anymore time whatsoever, you'll tell me what happened. Now."

"Fine. That _hijo de puta_, James, was making fun of me. He said I was a little, scrawny bitch who had no business anywhere near a Starship. So, I had to show him I wasn't a scrawny bitch."

It was right then when Up burst into the room. He immediately saw Taz.

"Taz! You fought that son of a bitch so hard, I'm surprised that he didn't go runnin' back to Earth, crying for his momma. Where'd ya learn to fight like that?"

The Commander coughed and gave Up a pointed look. Up blushed. "I mean… ya can't go around fightin' people. Isn't that right Commander?"

The Commander glared at Up, and motioned for him to sit down too. "Up, you're the one who brought this girl on the ship…no?"

Up nodded. "Yes ma'am."

"And, you are aware that if she causes permanent damage to anyone or anything, you will be held responsible?"

"Yes ma'am."

"So, please keep her under control."

Taz hated it when they did this. Talked about her as if she wasn't there. Acted like she was some lost, little _niña_ who didn't know what was going on around her. Someone tapped her shoulder. Quickly, she clawed it off, but Up had already moved his hand.

"C'mon Taz, we're done here." He stood up, saluted to the Commander, and exited the room, Taz close at his heels. As soon as they were out of listening distance of the Commander's office, Up stopped Taz.

"Damn it Taz! Why didn't you ever tell me you were such a good fighter?"

"I wasn't that good today. If these _estúpido_ ribs weren't still broken, I'd have gotten him worse."

Up couldn't drop the subject. "I've heard about you getting fights with the other refugees, but I hadn't seen you! Where did ya learn to fight like that?"

It was Taz's turn to blush. "Well…um…jou see…when I was still…at home…I was a scrapper."

"A what?"

"Jou know…a scrapper. I fought on the streets."

"You? Really? How old are you? Twelve?" He asked, teasing.

Taz then did something that he didn't expect. She moved her hand to the top of her boot, and pulled out a switchblade. Flipping it open and pointing it to Up's throat, she hissed, "I am fifteen, _¿entienda idiota?_"

Up put his hands in the air, and backed away. "I know. Put that away before you kill someone."

Taz scowled and shoved the knife back in her boot. Up decided it wouldn't be the best of ideas to continue on the subject of age. "So…umm…Taz? What do you want to do once you've healed? You can go back to Earth, maybe look for surviving family members."

She looked at him and laughed bitterly. "Family? Family? _Toda mi familia es muerto!_ All I'd find would be bodies! No, I'm going to stay here."

"But, you can't!"

"What do jou mean I can't?" She snapped, eyes flashing. He saw her hand straying to the switchblade again.

"No, no! I didn't mean you couldn't! I just meant that…you're underage. You can't join unless…unless…" Up broke off, an idea suddenly coming to him.

"Unless what?" Taz asked, annoyed.

"Unless…you've got a mentor…" Up whispered. Then, louder, "Wait here. I've got to go talk to someone."

"Up! Unless what? What did jou say?" She called, but he had already turned the corner running towards where Taz thought the administrative offices were. "UP, WHAT WERE JOU GOING TO SAY?"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Okay.. sorry this is so short.. and, I meant to upload a chapter yesterday, but I fell asleep before I could finish it... sorrrrrry!

OH! And, I'd like to give a HUGE THANK YOU TO urNotPERMITTEDtoTOUCH who has reviewed everyone of my chapters. I appreciate it so so so so so much! :D

Also, if any of you are writing a TUp FF, PM me! I'd love to read it!

**Disclaimer:** Could I maybe own just a little? No? No? Okay. I don't own Starship

* * *

"HARDER! YOU HAVE TO HIT HARDER!" Up screamed. Taz was standing in front of him, scowling. She stood still for a minute, and Up rolled his eyes. As soon as he wasn't completely focused on the girl in front of him, she punched him in the side of the face. And smirked.

"Okay. Fine Taz. If you're fighting and the person lets their guard down, then you can do that. Otherwise, listen to me."

She scowled again. "I'll listen to jou if jou give good ideas. But, until that, I listen to me."

Dead dead-god. This girl…had an attitude. It definitely made up for her height. For the week that he had been training her, she hadn't done what he asked once. Not once. She was strong, and brave as hell, but she needed to learn that some people were higher than her, that she wasn't in charge. And, Up thought he knew exactly to fix her.

"Okay Taz. You think you're strong?"

She looked confused but nodded.

"A good fighter?"

"_Sí…_"

"Then, fight me."

He watched her fight with herself. She obviously knew that it probably wasn't a fair fight, but if she rejected, she'd be damaging her pride. And, of the two options, Up knew what she'd choose.

"Fine." She hissed, eyes narrowed.

"All right… on the count of three. One…two…"

He didn't make it to three. As soon as "two" escaped his lips, she launched herself at him, hands curled into claws. She scratched his face, and fought like a cat. No technical ability whatsoever, but still put up a good fight. After maybe a minute of letting her rip her nails across his face and punch him as hard as she could, he grabbed her wrists.

And, that was where he got surprised.

Instead of being stopped, she bit his hand. With a cry, Up dropped her wrist. Mistake. With an angry scream, she kicked and punched him, pulling his hair and dragging her nails across any exposed flesh.

_I can't let a little girl beat me up. _Up thought.

He decided to stop playing easy on her. Quickly, he grabbed her arm again and twisted it behind her back, and pushed her to the ground. She writhed and struggled, but it was no match for Up. He held her to the ground until she lay still again. Only then did he take his knee off her back. She leaped up, eyes flashing again. She coiled her body, ready to spring when Up picked her up and walked to the benches that lined the room, and dropped her into a seated position.

"Stop. I won Taz."

She glared at him, but didn't say anything.

"You see? I know what I'm talking about. Listen to me, and you'll fight better."

"I fight fine, _gracias_."

"But, you could fight better. For example, don't coil your body so much. And you have to hit harder. Come here."

She stood, and walked over to Up. "If jou touch me, I will show jou how hard I can fight."

He sighed, and stood in a pose. "Copy this."

She rolled her eyes, and copied him. "_¿Es esto _good_?_"

Up shook his head. "No. You need to plant your feet firmer on the ground or you'll get knocked over."

They continued practicing the one pose until Taz had it perfectly. It took nearly all day.

But, Taz didn't complain. She was finally doing what she always wanted to do. She was going to be a Starship Ranger. And, her mentor was none other than Lieutenant Up.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N**: Hi! Here's another chapter! (no duh... :P) Anyways, I hope you all like it. And, if anyone would like to think of a better title, I'd love to see it. Just leave it in a review or PM me! Again, my spanish is kinda bad, so I apologize for that... BIG THANKS AND BUTTERFLY KISSES TO MY REVIEWERS! I LOVE YOU ALL!

****Oh, and tomorrow, I may take a break from writing a chapter for Rangers... but, i still want to write a TUp FF... so, if anyone would like to PM me a word or phrase, I'll use it as a prompt!****

Disclaimer: I (sadly) don't own Starship... or any of the characters.. BUT I DO OWN PENNY, ARABELLA AND LAILA! I FINALLY OWN SOMETHING!

*****Another Note... this story (and now this account) belong to the writer previously know as livesinadream...my sister gave the account to me. the story tequila tuesdays also belongs to me.**********

* * *

"Miss…" The officer said, obviously looking for a last name.

"Taz." She said, scowling again.

"Okay, then. Miss Taz, this will be your room during the next three years. You'll share it with other students. We hope you enjoy your time here at the G.L.E.E." With that, he walked down the hall.

Taz looked around the room. Two of the four walls were covered in posters for some boy bands. The names were foreign to her. The posters were bright and big. Those two beds were covered in hundreds of fluffy pink toys and pillows. Taz wrinkled her nose in disgust. The third wall was blank, but it was obvious that someone lived in the bed that was shoved up against it. The bed had a faded blue quilt on it that looked like someone had made it. Not like the scratchy gray blankets G.L.E.E provided.

Taz walked over to the final bed. It was obviously the worst one, as the ceiling above it sloped. Go figure. This was going to be hers for the next three years. Brilliant. She started to put her few belongings in the drawers of the bedside table. Her switchblade, a flower that she had worn in her hair, and a delicate pearl necklace that her mother had loaned her for her Quinceañera. After a second, she took the switchblade out and slipped it back into her pocket. With a sigh, she lay down on the bed, and was about to fall asleep when the door slammed. Jolting up to a sitting position, she saw three girls enter the room, laughing.

No. Two girls were laughing while the third was quietly walking behind them. The laughing girls were both tall and thin, with perfect shiny hair. Taz had a feeling that they would be like the nasty "queen bees" at her school back in Mexico.

"Hey, newbie! I'm Arabella! And this is Laila!" Said one of the laughing girls, first pointing to herself and then at the other pretty girl.

Laila gave Taz a condensing smile. "I didn't realize they let kids into the Academy now. God, they must be desperate."

Taz turned red. "I am not _una niña_! I am fifteen!"

"Oh, so they're also letting in little Mexican brats. I thought that you had to speak English to be on an American Starship." Arabella sneered.

Then, the third girl stood. She looked to be only an inch or two taller than Taz. "Shut up Arabella. Be nice." She crossed the room to Taz's bed. "Hi. I'm Penny." She leaned down as if to give Taz a hug, but instead whispered in her ear, "Ignore them. I've only had to room with them for a week, and they've already run out of stuff to tease me about. If you don't let them get to you, they'll give up."

Penny straightened, and walked back over to the bed with the blue quilt. She winked at Taz, opened a book and started to read.

Arabella walked over to Taz's bureau. "Awww…. The little brat doesn't have any photos or…" She opened the drawers. "And no clothes. Are you as poor as Penny?" Taz looked over at Penny who was obviously trying not to get angry. Laila walked over to stand next to Arabella. She opened the top drawer, where Taz kept the pearl necklace.

"Oh! I guess little Mexican brats are thieves! Which Commander did you take this from? Huh?"

Taz stayed silent.

"Well, it doesn't matter now. This is mine." Laila said with a mean smile, holding the necklace close to her.

Taz jumped up, and pulled the switchblade out of her pocket. "JOU GIVE THAT BACK TO ME RIGHT NOW! ¡_ESE COLLAR ERA MIS MADRES! ¡LAS PUTAS PUES TU NO TIENES INCLUSO SER PERMITIDO MIRARLO!" _She shoved Laila to the wall and held the switchblade to her throat. "Jou leave me alone, jou do not touch my things, and jou do not come near me. If jou do, I won't let you get away with just a warning." Taz jabbed her knife threateningly at Laila's throat, and spit in her face. _"¿Entienda?_"

Laila's previously cocky expression had been replaced with a scared look. Taz shut her knife and jammed it back into her pocket. Turning to the rest of the room, she screamed, "DOES ANYONE ELSE WANT TO TAKE MY STUFF? ANYONE ELSE WANT TO CROSS ME?"

Arabella shook her head, face pale. Penny was fighting back laughter in her bed, burying her face in a pillow. Laila wiped tears off her face and scurried back to Arabella, who gave her a hug and shot a dirty look at Taz. The pearl necklace lay on the floor, the chain snapped. As Taz saw it, she almost burst out crying. Almost. She didn't because she knew that crying would make her appear weak. And, Taz was not weak. That was one thing she was sure of.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Wow. I'm so so so sorry that this took so long to get posted. I promise not to take that much time for the next chapter! I really like this one, because it shows... a different Taz. I like writing tough Taz, but I figured she's only 15. She can't be like that all the time! And, Spanish translations suck. A lot. I'm sorry.. my Spanish is really bad!

DIsclaimer: I (still) don't own Starship. If I did, I wouldn't be posting FF here...

* * *

Up was woken in the middle of the night by someone slamming on his door.

"Sir! Sir!" A muffled cry came from the other side. Up groaned and looked at his clock. Two-thirty A.M. Who the HELL needed him at this un-dead-godly hour?

"Sir!" The voice came, more urgent this time. He stood, crossed the room and yanked open the door.

"WHAT THE HELL IS IT?" He yelled into the dark corridor, probably waking up every other person on the floor.

"Sorry Lieutenant." Someone whispered. He looked down and saw a petite girl with curly light brown hair. Most likely a new recruit. "Umm… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you, but something's wrong with her and she's screaming and I didn't know what to do and I remembered she said you were her mentor and…"

Up cut off the girl's rambling. "I didn't follow that. Who are you talking about? Please start again, and state your name."

She blushed and started over. "I'm Penny, sir, and I'm a new recruit. I'm Taz's roommate and…"

Up stopped her again. "Take me to your room. Now."

Penny nodded, and quickly started running down the hall. "I think it's this way." She led them into a dead end. "Oh damn it. I guess it's this way." She turned and started going the other way, and somehow ended up in the kitchen. "I'm sorry, sir. I don't quite know my way around yet." She was getting more flustered by the minute.

"Get yourself together. What's your room number?" Snapped Up.

"Four-five-three-three."

Up internally sighed and started in the other direction. The dense girl had been walking in completely the wrong direction. After a minute or two, she started her nervous chattering again. He ignored it, until she started talking about Taz again.

"…yeah, she has nightmares every night. The other girls would tease her about it, but after she threatened Laila with her switchblade, they're terrified of her…"

"She's been having nightmares every night, and you just thought to get me?" Up hissed.

Penny looked scared. "Ummm…yes…?"

He decided to ignore her again. They walked the rest of the way to the room in silence.

Up knew it was the right room before he checked the numbered plate by the door. Someone was screaming inside. Screaming in Spanish. Penny hurried to the door, and shoved the key in, hands trembling.

Up walked in, and was met by a pair of crying girls. A blonde and a brunette, both dressed in fancy looking pajamas. "Fucking Penny locked us in here with this lunatic!" The blonde pouted.

"Get the hell out of my way." Up growled at the girls. They looked scared for a minute, and ran out the door into the dark academy. Taz was sitting straight up in bed, eyes wide open, screaming the same words over and over.

"_¡ÉSA ES MI FAMILIA! ¡NO LOS TOME!" _

Penny sat back down on her bed, but kept an eye on Taz and Up. Cautiously, Up walked over to her bed and laid a hand on her shoulder. Taz jolted away from him and started to scream louder. Not sure what to do, Up drew back his hand and slapped Taz across her face. After a second of silence, Taz drew a breath. "What the HELL did jou do that for?" She looked angry, but there was something that was…different. She looked like she was trying, trying to appear tough. Up sat down on the edge of her bed and she quickly moved away from him.

"Um... I'm going… to the… kitchen." Penny said quickly, and then darted out of the room.

As soon as Penny had left, Taz's tough façade crumbled. As she blinked her eyes to keep back the tears, she hissed at Up, "If jou tell anyone I was soft, I will take jou and carve jour deadgod-damned eyes out of jour head and feed them to the data-dogs." By the time she finished her sentence, she had buried her face in her hands. Up had no idea what to do. He'd never had to comfort a girl, let alone a slightly hysterical fifteen year old.

"Um…what's wrong Taz?" he asked hesitatingly.

She looked up, her face still surprisingly dry. She wasn't crying. "I had a…dream about my Quinceañera. And then, I woke up… _and pensé que era un sueño…pero…__recordaba que era real. Soy toda solo._ All alone."

Up didn't understand half of what she said. Still, he understood the last bit. "No. You're not Taz. Penny's your friend, isn't she?"

Taz had never considered that. "Yeah. I guess."

Up took a breath. "And…even if Penny isn't your friend…you've got me."

Taz looked at him. "Really? _Pero_…jou're my teacher…mentor. Jou'd want to be…my _amigo_?"

He nodded. "Yeah. You could be like my little sister. I never had a sister."

Taz smiled for the first time since Up had met her. Her smile transformed her face, and for the first time, Up could see what she had been like before the robots destroyed her life.

"I've never had a big brother." She reached up and quickly hugged him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Even as he said it, he felt like he should be thanking her. But, what for? So, he just hugged her back and sat on the edge of her bed until she fell back asleep.

" 'Night Taz." He whispered as he left the room.


	8. Chapter 8

Classes sucked. That's all Taz could say about them. There was a long list of things she hated about them.

They were long. Really long. Like 2 hours for one damn class

None of the topics were even remotely interesting. She had been kicked out of Physics the other day for stating this very obvious fact.

The homework. The teachers seemed to plan so that there would be an essay due in Astronomy on the same day that there was a huge test in both English and Alien Languages. And, go figure, a teacher would require a chapter or two of their History textbook to be read and summarized…due on the same freaking day.

Taz hadn't learned half the stuff they were supposed to know. How was a Mexican village school supposed to compete with the specialized American schools that had millions of dollars?

Every dead-god-damned class was in English. So, Taz had to listen more carefully, and couldn't space out like she did in her classes back home.

Even though Taz's English was good, she'd never had to take a class in the damn language. She had taught herself English from a variety of out-of-date textbooks and her grandmother's old American movies.

But, even worse than English was the matter of math. Even when the class had been taught in Spanish, Taz had never understood any math whatsoever. But, then, it was okay to do poorly in school, because it didn't matter. Taz knew that no matter what grades she got, she'd end up being forced by her mother to drop out of school as soon as she turned 16 to get married. So, Taz would just try in the subjects she liked, and not even attempt any math classes. But, in the G.L.E.E Academy, if you even failed one class, you'd be forced to repeat the year. And Taz couldn't afford that. G.L.E.E had already made an exception to let her in when she was three years younger than the regular student. If she failed class, she'd probably get kicked out. For good.

"This does not make any sense, Penny. _Las matemáticas está loca_. How is this so easy for jou?"

Penny sighed again. She and Taz had been sitting in the library for hours, huddled over a textbook.

"Taz…just do the problem again. One more time."

Taz glared at the math book and then longingly glanced out the window at the still light grounds. (Given, it was artificial light and artificial outdoors, but…still…) Penny raised her eyebrows.

"Taz. Just try one more time, and we can go. 'kay?"

Taz groaned. _"¡No quiero hacerlo!"_ But, despite her Spanish complaints, she picked back up the pencil and began the problem again. After maybe ten minutes she threw the pencil down in disgust. "_¡Allí! ¡Lo hice! _Jou happy now?"

Penny smiled at her friend's anger directed at a math problem. "Yeah. I'm happy now." Picking up the paper, her smile slid off. "Taz. You forgot to switch the direction of the sign. It screwed up the whole function. This is Algebra 1… if you can't do this, I'm scared what will happen when we try calculus…"

Taz scowled. "I will not try calculus. How is that for an answer? Now, I am going outside before it gets too dark to see anything."

With a joyful yell that earned her a disapproving glare from the librarian, Taz ran out of the library, leaving Penny to clean up the books by herself. She sprinted through the brightly lit corridors until she reached the door that let the students outdoors. Taz walked along the neatly maintained paths until she was sure that no one was around her. Then, she took her backpack off, and slipped it under a bush. After taking one last look, she got down on her stomach and wriggled under the bush, until she was in a dark, cave like space.

"_Mierda. Es oscura_." She muttered, glad to finally be ale to use Spanish without getting a disapproving glare from a teacher. Blindly feeling for her backpack, her fingers glanced it by chance. She pulled out a small flashlight and a book. Switching on the light, she curled up and started to read the book.

She had found the book in the library nearly two weeks ago. It was identical to a book she had owned as a child, a collection of Spanish fairy tales. Reading it gave her back memories that she thought she had forgotten.

"TAZ! HEY TAZ!" Someone yelling jolted her out of her book. Shit. It was Penny. Another voice joined Penny's. "TAZ! YOU HAVE TO GET INSIDE! NOW!" The voice was familiar, but she couldn't place it. "TAZ! TAZ! GET INSIDE!" Penny again. "TAZ! THERE'S AN ATTACK! YOU HAVE TO GO INSIDE!" The other person's identity was immediately clear to Taz. It was Commander Up. In that second, she realized that this wasn't some prank Penny was playing. It was real.

She dropped her book, leaving it in the bush.

"_¡Aquí! ¡Estoy aquí!_" She yelled. "Where are jou?"

"Here! We're here! RUN!"

Abandoning her things, Taz sprinted in the direction of the voices. Just as she thought she'd lost them, she ran right into Up and Penny.

"What's going on? What's happening?"

Penny was too winded to answer, but Up seemed completely normal. "There's a high alert happening. All students were supposed to be in their dorms. Penny came to me, asking if you were with me. Naturally, you weren't and Penny insisted on coming with me to find you."

His professional manner dropped. "Deadgoddamit Taz! You scared me bad. Don't go running off like that."

"Jou? Jou were scared?"

"Yes." He said tersely. "I was. Come on. We have to get inside. There's a high possibility of a robot attack."

And with that, he turned and started to walk away. Penny followed him, still winded. Taz was last.

_He was scared about me. I scared Commander Up. The toughest son of a bitch the G.L.E.E had ever seen was scared about me. _


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: **Hey. I know this isn't a chapter... I'm sorry. I just needed to create ranks, and I got.. a little carried away... SORRY! They're based off Star Trek ranks.. I am not a Trekkie, but, my brother is, and he gave me the titles...

* * *

**G.L.E.E Ranks**

_Created 2056 _

Cadet (Student) 

_In some Starships, specifically European and African Starships, the rank of Cadet is replaced with the title of Student. There is Year One Student, which is equivalent to a Cadet 3__rd__ Class, a Year Two Student, equivalent to Cadet 2__nd__ Class and so on. _

_If a Cadet shows extreme promise, it is possible to skip 2__nd__ class. However, this is only possible if the Cadet either a) shows extreme bravery in a real life battle situation or b) is recommended by the Captain (or equivalent highest ranking officer) of their Starship. Even after recommendation or battle, the Cadet must then pass a practical test to move up to Cadet 1__st__ Class. If a Cadet does manage this, then they are automatically given silver for their 2__nd__ Class pins. It must be noted here that only fifty-four Rangers in the history of the Starship Ranger program have successfully skipped Cadet 2__nd__ Class. _

Cadet 3rd Class

A Ranger is a 3rd Class Cadet until they have either completed 1 year of training in the G.L.E.E Academy or 75 hours of hand-to-hand combat, 100 hours of weaponry training, 100 hours of tactical theory and 75 hours of various academic classes (minimal requirement of 2 math classes, 2 science classes, 1 history class, 1 English Class and 1 alien language). Most 3rd Class Cadets opt to train for a full year, as it's less cramming. However, some choose to go the speed route, usually finishing in 2-4 months. A 3rd Class Cadet wears one bronze or silver circle, depending on ability, prestige and work.

Cadet 2rd Class

A Ranger becomes a 2nd Class Cadet after they complete their 3rd Class Cadet requirements. They can complete 2nd Class requirements by either spending a year studying at the G.L.E.E Academy or spending six months in a high-intensity program run by Lieutenants. A 2nd Class Cadet wears two bronze or silver circles, depending on ability, prestige and work.

Cadet 1st Class

A Ranger becomes a 1st Class Cadet after completing the 2nd Class requirements. To pass, they must spend six months studying at the G.L.E.E Academy, two months as an intern to a Commander and a month as a mentor for 3rd Class Cadets. After the nine months of work, they must sit final exams in various subjects depending on what the Cadet wishes to study after graduation. To pass, they must get a 75% or higher on every subject. If the Cadet fails, they must repeat all requirements for the 1st Class Cadet. A 1st Class Cadet wears three bronze or silver circles, depending on ability, prestige and work.

_After passing the Cadet 1__st__ Class tests, the Cadets become Ensigns at their graduation. A Ranger may stay at the Ensign level for the rest of their career. _

1) Ensign

An Ensign is the most junior of all post-academy rankings. Ensigns carry much of the menial labor that is necessary to keep a Starship running. An Ensign lives on one Starship. Some exceptions have been made to the rules of Ensign's work. If an Ensign has a mentor, then that mentor has the ability to decide where the Ensign works and what sort of work they carry out. A Ranger is an Ensign for three years. After the three years is up, that Ranger has finished their term of duty. Once they finish the term of service, they can elect to return to Earth or to another planet or to continue in the work of a Starship Ranger. An Ensign wears their three bronze or silver pins from being a Cadet plus one gold circular pin to show that they are an Ensign.

_If recommended, an Ensign can be taken directly from Ensign to Lieutenant, skipping the post of Junior Lieutenant all together. However, this is very difficult to do, as there must be a unanimous decision by at least 4 random Commanders. _

2) Junior Lieutenant

If an Ensign elects to continue in their service, after the three years, they could become a Junior Lieutenant. A Junior Lieutenant begins to take more senior leadership positions in a Starship. They work directly with the Lieutenants, sometimes helping to teach classes, but most of the time, the Junior Lieutenants are there to help the Lieutenants by being the second officer on a shift. A Junior Lieutenant fills many more minor roles, such as 2nd Science Officer to a Starship, or Communications Officer. To become a Junior Lieutenant, they must complete at least three years of being an Ensign, and have at least two letters of recommendation from a higher-ranking officer. The Junior Lieutenant wears one silver or bronze circle (depending on what the majority of their Cadet pins were), one gold circle, one gold braid on the shoulder and a silver triangular pin that resembles the late 21st century Starships.

_(This is also the position automatically given to all medical personnel after graduation, excluding nurses) _

3) Lieutenant

The Lieutenant holds an important role on a Starship. On any mission, there must be one Lieutenant always on duty. If the Commander of the mission is killed or injured, the Lieutenant takes on the role of Commander. When not on a mission, the Lieutenant may be the appointed head of a branch, however, they are more commonly a second in command under a Lieutenant Commander. Very few Rangers make it to the level of Lieutenant. A Lieutenant must either a) be recommended by 5 or more higher-ranking officers or b) display extreme courage in a battle or other real life situations. A Lieutenant must show extreme dedication to even be considered for the job. A Ranger must have at least 10 years of service before being considered for the job of Lieutenant. Exceptions can be made, but let it be stated that these exceptions are very rare. A Lieutenant wears one silver or bronze circle (depending on what the majority of their Cadet pins were), one gold circle, two gold braids on the shoulder and a bronze star. One star is added per year of service as a Lieutenant.

4) Lieutenant Commander

A Lieutenant Commander is a role only found on Starships that were established after 2109. Many Starships in commission today were made between 2061 and 2103, so the position of Lieutenant Commander is a relatively new one. To reach the position, there must be a recommendation from the Captain of their Starship. The position of Lieutenant Commander is much like the position of a Lieutenant, with a couple small differences. A Lieutenant Commander does not require the presence of a Commander on a mission if the mission is predicted to last less than a week. Lieutenant Commanders are also very likely to be the head of a branch, with a Lieutenant as their second in command. A Lieutenant Commander wears a silver circle, as one can only reach the level of Lieutenant Commander if they received all silver at the G.L.E.E Academy, a gold circle to signify their time as an ensign, two gold braids on one shoulder and one on the other. They also wear their gold stars from the time as a Lieutenant. For each year as a Lieutenant Commander, they would wear a gold rectangular pin below the row of stars.

5) Commander

The position of Commander is very difficult to obtain. Like the roles of Lieutenant and Lieutenant Commander, there are only 3 Commanders on a small Starship and 6 on a larger one. The Commanders are in charge of a group of 1 Lieutenant and 1 Lieutenant Commander, as well as up to 50 ensigns. The Commander of a group is in charge of deciding who goes on what missions, and whether or not a Lieutenant Commander or the Commander themself goes on the mission. If a Commander goes on a mission, a Lieutenant Commander from another group takes over their role until they return. A Commander is also in charge of working on any settling missions and in charge in any battle. On a Starship, the only person who outranks the Commander is a Captain. However, on most Starships, about 75%, there is no Captain, so the highest rank belongs to the Commander. To become a Commander, one must have at least 10 years of service (excluding school), the recommendation from either the Captain or if their Starship doesn't have a Captain, from the Director of the G.L.E.E. When a Ranger gains the position of Commander, it's very likely that they will keep that position until their retirement or death. A Commander wears everything the Lieutenant Commander wears except they have two gold braids on each shoulder, and they get a silver star per year as a Commander and a gold star per each ten years.

6) Captain

There are only 25 Captains in the G.L.E.E at one time. They are the highest rank that a Ranger can receive. Captain is a post that is only used on the large Starships. The Captain oversees everything, from the selection of Cadets to pull for their Starship to the missions assigned to each Commander's group. The only way to become a Captain is to be directly recommended by the Director of the G.L.E.E and to have 25 years of service to the G.L.E.E. There are no exceptions. The Captain wears everything the Commander does, with a couple changes. They wear three gold braids on each shoulder and a silver and gold diamond-shaped pin that has a stone set in it for each year of service.

**Other Jobs in the G.L.E.E **

Medical Personnel

To become a part of the G.L.E.E's medical team, one must have 5 years of training at any one of the G.L.E.E's medical training schools. To be a specialized doctor, one must take classes in that subject for 3 years in addition to the 5 years of training.

Nurses

Nurses are required to have 2 years of training before working in a Starship and 3 years of training before working on the front lines of any war.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I'm so proud of myself. I wrote two chapters yesterday. I'll post this one today, and the other one tomorrow. I really hope you all like them. I'm shit at writing fight scenes, so I apologize in advance.

DISCLAIMER: I STILL DO'T OWN IT! OKAY?

They didn't make it back into the building. As they turned the corner, a horribly familiar noise met Taz's ears. The last time she had heard it, she ended up strung up in a tree, fighting for her life. Up obviously recognized it too. His face hardened, and hand strayed to where a zapper was strapped on his back. He turned around and looked at Taz and Penny. Penny was trying not to let fear show on her face, but was failing miserably. But Taz wasn't. Taz was looking where the beeping, metallic robot noises were coming from the Academy. Her eyes were full of fire and face set in an expression of absolute rage.

"Let me get them. Let me kill them all." She hissed.

"No." Up grabbed her by her long, black braid. "No. Taz, you and Penny go to the far corner of the garden. Do not come out until you hear either a siren or the Commander saying all clear. If it's a siren, run as fast as you can. Do not stop."

He started to walk away, zapper out. But, after only a second or two, he could hear someone coming up behind him.

"Taz. I told you to run." He growled, not turning around.

"No. I am not running. I will be a scared little _niña_."

He could hear Penny begging her to run. "Please, Taz. Please. Do you want to die? Please, let's go Taz. Run. Please, please, please."

By the time they reached the door, he knew that she wouldn't be turning back. He could have picked both her and Penny up, and carried them to the far corner of the garden. But, if he did that, it was quite possible that thousands of cadets and ensigns could be killed.

"Are you aware that this could kill you?"

Taz nodded, jaw set. Up looked to Penny. "And you, Cadet Beck? Are you prepared to die?"

Penny's eyes widened. She looked between Up and Taz, shivering. "I…I am." She said, voice soft.

"Okay. Do either of you have any sort of weapon?"

Taz pulled her switchblade from a pocket. "I have this. And I can fight." They both turned to Penny, who guiltily took a medium-sized zapper from her backpack. Up's mouth fell open. "I'm not even going to ask how ya got that." His accent had gotten heavier with his astonishment. "Do ya know how to use that, Cadet?" Penny shook her head.

"Okay, missy. All ya gotta do is point and pull? Got it?" She nodded, eyes wide.

"All right. Now, I'm gonna go look for other commanding officers. Taz, Penny, you two go to cafeteria. There's almost always someone on duty in there."

They both nodded, and Taz led a slightly trembling Penny through a window she smashed open with a rock.

_What the hell am I thinking, sending two cadets into a warzone? _Up thought, resisting the urge to follow them through the window, to pull them to safety. _They'll be fine. They know what's coming for them. They signed up to be Starship rangers. _With one last look at the window, he blasted open the door and ran into the burning, flaming mess that was previously the Academy.

. . .

Nothing could have prepared them for what was inside the Academy. Not even Taz's nightmare Quinceañera could compare to sight that met them. The window that they entered through led into what was a Cadet 1st Class bunkroom. Penny whimpered as they looked around the room. People were draped around the room. Not people. Corpses. None of them looked to have been killed directly by the robots. But, as Taz walked closer, she saw they all shared one characteristic. A burn mark directly in the middle of their foreheads. Fighting the urge to be sick, she looked at Penny.

"C'mon." Penny whispered. "We have to get out of here."

Without looking behind them, the two girls ran from the room. In the hallway, they were met by walls and walls of flames.

"Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill." The metallic voice of a robot was coming closer. With shaking hands, Penny held the zapper in front of her and blindly shot it at the noise.

"Kill, kil-"

The noise abruptly stopped.

"I think...I think jou hit it." Taz said.

Penny didn't stop shooting.

"It's dead, Penny. Stop." Taz shook Penny's shoulder. "We have to go to the cafeteria, remember?"

Eyes wild, she nodded, but kept her finger on the trigger. The girls ran around the corner, and directly into a silver DeathBot.

"Hello puny huh-mans. You want mercy? Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. That was a joke. Because robots do not feel mercy. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha."

Penny aimed the zapper at the robot, but it plucked it from her fingers and threw it down the hallway. Then, it leaned down and picked up Penny. Holding her high above the ground, it said, "How will I kill you? Will I burn your incompetent brain from your skull? Or will I drop you and let you slowly die?" Taz watched helplessly as the robot contemplated the different ways to kill Penny. Suddenly, the girl being held high above the ground wasn't Penny. They weren't in the smoky, hot hallways of the Academy. They were in a garden that was still lit with shards of fairy lights. There were remains of streamers and party balloons everywhere. And, the girl was Rosalia. Little, tiny Rosalia. Frozen on the spot, Taz watched as the robot swung Rosalia-Penny back and forth.

And then she ran away.

Ran away to where the robot had thrown Penny's zapper. Ran, praying to a dead God, to the conquered Virgin, to the murdered Christ that the zapper somehow, somehow had survived the fall.

"Yes. That is right, puny huh-man. Run. Run like the weak, tiny huh-man that you are." The robot's metallic laughs mixed with Penny's terrified screams chased her down the hall. Pretending to fall, she shot out her hand to grab the zapper. The robot laughed, and started to walk down the corridor, toward Taz's fallen body.

"Duck Penny!" Taz screamed. She whipped the zapper around and pulled the trigger. With a beautiful _pew_-ing noise, a jet of red light shot across the hallway, and hit the robot directly in the middle of its chest, where the main electric circuits were stored. The robot looked almost surprised for a second, and then it fell to the ground, burying Penny beneath it.

"Penny? Jou okay? Penny? Can jou hear me?" Taz yelled, praying for the third time in her life.

After a minute, a muffled voice came from below the robot. "Yeah. I think so. Gimme a second. I can see a light."

Taz felt ridiculously exposed standing in the fiery hallway, with no protection. Her body was telling her to run, to let Penny find her way out. Just as she was about to run, or at least take cover in a destroyed classroom, a brown head popped out of a small hole in the pile of robot parts. It was Penny.

"Come here Taz! I've found something!"

With one last look around for an approaching robot, with every nerve in her body screaming at her to run, she walked cautiously towards Penny.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Okay, I've written another chapter, but, I have no wifi, so I can't put it up til Tuesday. I'm putting this chapter up only because I uploaded it into doc manager yesterday and can use 3G to upload it! I LOVE MY PHONE! Okay. Enjoy my friends.

DISCLAIMER: I still do not own Starship. Never did, never will. *fangirl sob*

* * *

Penny was still below the robot. Only her head was free. "Taz, you have to see this!"

"I'm coming, _idiota_!" Taz whispered, afraid that if she spoke any louder a robot would hear and finish the job the destroyed DeathBot had started. As Taz neared the robot's fallen form, Penny's head disappeared again. "C'mon Taz. Get down here."

Taz carefully put the zapper through the hole, and then slid in too. And almost landed on top of Penny.

"_Mierda_! What are jou doing, sitting right where I come in?"

"There's no where else to go. Now, look!" Penny whispered. She pointed to a faint outline of a heating vent in the wall. "We can get to the cafeteria through this. The robots won't fit. We'll be… almost safe."

Taz gave Penny a rare smile. "Okay. Let's go."

Pulling the switchblade from her pocket, she pried the grate off the heating vent. "Okay, Penny. Jou take the zapper. I will go first. After jou get through, jou have to pull the…the cover thing back over."

"The grate?"

"_Sí_. If that's what jou call it."

Taz slid into the vent, and started to crawl along the hot metal. She could hear Penny behind her, pulling herself along as quietly as possible. Every so often, a grate would open, and they could see rooms full of people. There wasn't a noise coming from any of them. Hundreds of cadets, ensigns, teachers. All dead. For the first time, Taz's mind wandered to the thought of her awful roommates. Sure, they were cruel, nasty, spiteful _putas_, but she didn't want them dead. Then, imagining Arabella and Laila lying hurt or killed somewhere made her think of the possibility of Up lying in one of the rooms. She shook the thought from her mind. _No. That's not possible. Not Up. _After passing maybe ten grates, Penny pulled on Taz's leg.

"What? What do jou want?" Taz snapped.

"Taz…what if we're the only ones left?"

For the second time, the image of Up's body, limp and forgotten in one of the hallways swam before her eyes. _No_. _He's not dead._ "We can't be."

Penny was obviously going to say something; she even started to speak, but stopped.

"Jou gonna say anything?" Taz whispered.

"No… I mean… just… if we die…thanks for being my friend." Penny stammered.

"We're not gonna die, okay _idiota_?"

Taz started to crawl again. The metal they were on was getting hotter, almost burning their palms. The sound of robots walking below them was always there. The worst part was that there wasn't one human voice. That is, there wasn't until they had to stop. The metal had burned Penny's cheek and neck, and burned Taz's palms and exposed knees as they crawled through the increasingly narrower passages.

"I'm not telling ya anything. Y'all can torture me as much as you like, but I'm not spilling any G.L.E.E secrets."

Taz's eyes grew wide. Up. Up was down there. Penny started to shake her head, to tell Taz that they couldn't go down, when Taz turned on her.

"Give me the zapper. Now." Taz's voice was low and dangerous. "I am not going to listen to those _hijos de putas_ murder Up. Give it to me."

Penny gave up on trying to hide the zapper behind her. "Just…just be careful, 'kay Taz?"

Taz nodded, and looked at Penny. She aimed the zapper at the vent's wall and, with a last glance at Penny, she blurted, "Thanksforbeingmyfriendtoo." And, as soon as the last syllable left her mouth, she pulled the trigger, blasting a hole in the side of the heating vent. As she fell through, she managed to hold the zapper close to herself so it didn't break. With a crash, she landed behind two robots. In an instant, they faced her.

"HEY! JOU TIN CANS! JOU CAN'T GET ME!" She shrieked, waving the zapper. The robots started to advance on her, whirring claws headed towards her face. Quickly, she jumped up onto a pile of rubble.

_Mierda_. As she landed on her ankle, it was all she could do not to scream in pain. She couldn't let the robots see that she was hurt. "HEY! JOU COULDN'T HURT A LITTLE _NIÑA_! JOU THINK JOU'RE SO STRONG! MY _ABUELA_ WAS STRONGER THAN JOU PATHETIC TOASTERS!" She started to shoot the zapper at the robot. Hitting it where she hit the other ones, she expected it to fall. It didn't. _Mierda, mierda, mierda_. Taz looked desperately to where Up was sitting, tied to a chair. He was mouthing something to her. Hopelessly, she tried to read his lips. Nothing. He then started to motion to his head, between his eyes. _Shoot them here_. He mouthed over and over.

Holding the zapper to her shoulder, she aimed at the robots' heads. The first shot missed. By a lot. It didn't even hit the robot. The laser burned a hole in the wall. Breaths ragged, she aimed again. She wasn't sure how much longer the zapper would shoot without a recharge. This time, the shot almost found its mark. The robot stopped for a second, and almost fell, but it continued walking. It was now staggering, slower, but still backing Taz up into a corner. _No. No._ She blindly shot again, this time hitting the other robot right above the hand. Then, just as the second robot was about to cut her face with its whirring knife hands, it stopped. The knives in its left hand had stopped. Realizing what she could do, Taz aimed for its other hand, breaking that one too. In the robots' momentary confusion, she jumped down from the rubble heap, ducked around the staggering robot and ran across the room, ankle screaming in protest. Hands shaking, she took her switchblade from her pocket and cut the ropes that tied Up's hands. She shoved the zapper at him. "SHOOT THEM _IDIOTA_!" She screamed. Up positioned the zapper, and took aim. One, two. Both robots fell.

With a sigh of relief, she sank to the floor suddenly aware of how much her ankle really hurt, and that the burns on her face and hands were screaming with pain. Up leaned down. "Taz? Taz? You okay? Taz?" He shook her shoulder. The last thing she remembered was his concerned blue eyes looking down at her.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** So, I'd like to thank everyone for actually taking time to read my fangirl ramblings. Thank you. Also, I just realized that I never gave anyone an age. So, in this story, as of now, Taz is 15, Penny is 18 and Up is 27. This beautiful author's note will be continued at the bottom, as I introduce two new characters in this chapter. One is very minor, but I'll give his ago anyways. Also, thank you to everyone who's been reviewing. I really, really, really appreciate it.

**DISCLAIMER: I still don't own them. but, I do own Penny. and any other original characters. and the plot. (sorta) **

* * *

When she woke up, everything was bright. For a minute, she wondered if she was in heaven. Then, almost as quickly, she remembered that heaven had been bombed by robot crafts nearly forty years ago. And, even if there still was a heaven, it wouldn't open its gates for her.

And then, the battle in the Academy came back to her. Taz jolted into a sitting position, ready to go looking for Up and Penny. Bad idea. Moving quickly after lying down is not a great idea. And, it's an even worse idea if you happen to have multiple broken bones.

"Cadet Taz, we have to ask that you remain lying down." A crisp voice said. A man in a nurse's uniform walked into Taz's line of vision. "Are you feeling alright?"

Taz nodded. Even that hurt. "_Sí, sí_." She said, slightly impatiently. "_Pero_… there was a girl with me. Penny. And the Lieutenant Up. Penny, where is she? And where is the Lieutenant?"

The nurse man checked something on a clipboard. "Penelope Beck? She was being treated for various burns to the face and hands. And a fractured wrist. She's still under observation and will be released tomorrow. The Lieutenant is waiting outside. If you feel ready to visit, he can be let in."

"_Sí_. I feel fine." Taz said quickly. The nurse gave her a doubtful look, but still pressed a button, letting the door slide open. "If you need anything Miss Taz, I'm in my office. Just press the call button." After pointing to a red button on the table next to Taz, he left the room. And, as soon as the nurse had gone, Up rushed in. Before Up could say much of anything, Taz spoke. "What happened? How is the Academy? How many…are _muerta_?"

Up didn't know what "_muerta_" meant, but he could guess. He started with the easiest question. "Robots intercepted the signals between some Ensigns at our Academy and Ensigns at an Academy in France. It was a training exercise, talking about 'readying themselves for an attack on the robot stronghold.' But, the robots didn't know that. I suppose their…chief, leader, whatever, panicked and ordered a full-scale attack on our Academy and the French Academy. Half the Academy burned down. The gym, the cafeteria, all the Ensign and Cadet dorms. All that's left is the offices, some of the library, and the classrooms." He stopped there and looked at Taz. "You okay? The doctors told me that you managed to break your ankle, three ribs, and fractured your arm."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. _Pero_… how many Up?"

His face fell. "I promised Doctor Goode that I wouldn't tell you."

"No… _por favor_ Up. Please." She whispered. "_Por favor_."

Not looking at her, he answered. "The only 3rd Class Cadets to make it out were you, Penny and a boy, Sam, who managed to lock himself in a supply closet with a practice zapper. He's in critical condition and the doctors aren't sure he'll make it out."

Taz shut her eyes. Those stupid _chicas_, Laila and Arabella didn't make it out. Even though they tortured her, they didn't deserve to be murdered by robots. Maybe they deserved to fail class. To be kicked out of the Academy. But to be killed? And all the other cadets she trained with, laughed with, studied with. All dead.

"You sure you want me to continue?" He asked, worry creeping into his voice.

"_Sí_. Don't stop."

"2nd Class Cadets were all sent to their dormitories. The robots entered through the wall in their dorms. Only one girl, Anna, made it out because she was still in the cafeteria when the initial attack happened. 1st Class Cadets…"

He stopped again. "Taz. You don't have to listen to this. It's just death and more death."

Her eyes flared up. "Jou will keep talking until I tell jou to stop, _ese_."

"Not one 1st Class Cadet made it out. The robots targeted them. And then they targeted the Ensigns. And then all the Lieutenants and Commanders at the Academy. No one was prepared Taz. The only survivors of that attack are you, Penny, Sam, Anna and me. No one else. They're all dead." By the time he had finished, he was looking at his lap.

Taz wasn't sure how to react. "Jou…jou mean the Academy's destroyed?"

"Yes. Along with all our hopeful rangers. And, do you know the worst thing?"

She shook her head. With a bitter laugh he held out a golden rectangular pin. "When they found out that all the head officers were dead, they immediately promoted me. They haven't been dead a week, and they're already being replaced."

Just as he finished, Doctor Goode walked into the room. "Hello Cadet Taz, Lieutenant Commander Up. Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. It was very hard to get you the twenty minutes you just had. Cadet Taz isn't in as stable of a condition as she may be leading you on to believe. She needs rest."

Up stood to go.

"Wait! Up!" Taz whispered.

He turned to answer her. Instead of a question, he suddenly had a tiny girl gripping him as hard as she could around the waist. As he bent down to hug her back, she whispered, "I thought I'd lose jou. I thought the robots were going to kill jou." He didn't know how to respond. Without thinking, he answered. "Don't worry. Remember? I promised to always be there for you." He wasn't sure if she heard, but she did squeeze him harder.

"Lieutenant Commander? As touching as this is, I really am going to have to ask you to leave. I'm sorry." Doctor Goode was standing by the door, a slight smile crossing her face. "You can come in again tomorrow if Cadet Taz is doing better, okay?"

They didn't let him in the next day. Or the one after that. In fact, no one was allowed in for the next week. Finally, after hours of lying in bed, bored out of her mind, Taz heard the blessed sound of the automatic doors swishing open. When Taz sat up, she saw it was Penny.

She looked different. Her light brown hair was cropped short to her head, and there were obvious scars running up her arms. The biggest difference was a burn that stretched across her face, starting at her chin and ending right below her left eye.

"Penny, what happened to jour face? And jour hair?"

She gave Taz a half smile. "My hair was burned. The medics had to cut it off."

She then sat down in the chair next to Taz's bed. "So, how are you?"

"I am fine!" Taz exclaimed. "These _estúpido_ doctors are insisting that I have to 'remain under observation.'"

"You have broken ribs and a broken ankle. And, knowing you, you'd probably get in a fight as soon as they let you out, and then break more ribs."

"_Sí. Yo sé_. But they won't even let me out of my bed."

"Okay. So, what do you want to do?

"I want to get out of bed."

Penny sighed. " You can't do that. If I helped you, I'd get in trouble. And, anyways, your doctor is standing outside the door. I saw her when I came in. We can talk. Tell me…tell me about your family."

Taz's face hardened. "_Toda mi familia está muerto_." She mumbled. "There. Now, jou tell me something. I want to know how jou got that zapper."

Penny froze. "That's not important Taz. How 'bout I tell you…"

"No." Taz broke in. "_Por favorcito_, Penny? We're _amigas, no_?"

"Yeah. We are. But, Taz, you have to promise not to tell anyone. I could get kicked out of the Academy."

"_Sí, sí_, I promise."

"Okay." Penny still looked nervous. "As long as I can remember, ever since I was a little kid, I would just need to take things. They wouldn't have any sort of value, or anything. I just needed them."

"Jou mean steal?"

"Yes." Penny said, voice hard. "I mean steal. I would steal things. And, on that morning, an Ensign put his zapper down on a bench behind where we were sitting. Before I knew what I was doing, I had taken it, and put it in my bag." She paused for a moment. "Before I left to come here, my dad would beat me for taking things…" Shaking her head, she plastered on a huge fake smile. "So, I told you that, now you tell me about your family." It was obvious Penny didn't want to talk about it.

Taz looked at her friend. She wasn't sure what to do. So, instead of reacting, she just mumbled, "_Lo siento_." Then, louder, she said, "My family is dead."

"But, they weren't always that way. Just one thing. Please?"

Taz's face softened for a minute, obviously remembering something. "I had a _hermanita_. A little sister. Rosalia. We were exact opposites. When I was scrapping on the streets _con los niños_, she was practicing dance. Her biggest dream was to be discovered by a movie director and to move to _los Estados Unidos_." Then, the softness in Taz's disappeared left as quickly as it came. "The robots killed her. A defenseless, harmless child. And, I will kill them all. Every last one."

* * *

**A/N (Continued):** Okay, so Sam (one of the other survivors if you forgot who he was.. he was mentioned once...) is 18 like Penny and Anna is 19. Okay. That's it. I'll have the next chapter up tomorrow. (hopefully)


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: I hate this chapter. I've written it like 5 times, and this is the best it's gotten. I apologize for it's terribleness. Taz is so OOC, in my opinion. I'm really sorry. The only reason I'm posting it is that I decided that hey, she's a bored 15 year old girl. She's not always going to be the tough Taz I was writing. Still… I'm really sorry. This chapter is so bad. I may take it down. Oh, also, I was wondering if any of you could help me come up with a better title. Wow. Long AN. I'll stop now. Try not to hate this chapter too much.

DISCLAIMER: if I owned them, this chapter would be better, like a thousand percent.

* * *

"Taz?"

"_¿Sí?_"

"Do you ever wonder when we're gonna get out of here?"

"Soon. I hope."

Penny and Taz had been stuck in a room at the back of the earth base for the last month. According to Up, there had been very little progress on the re-building of the Academy. No one had the money to do it. Even if there had been money, there were nowhere near enough people to do the actual work. Nearly half of the fleet's Ensigns had been killed in the last two months alone, most of them from the attack on the Academy. No one liked to admit it, but the G.L.E.E was slowly falling apart. The amount of cadets enrolling had dropped. The success rate of missions had dropped. Hell, even the number of functioning Starships had dropped.

"Penny?"

"Yeah?"

"Jou want to go into town tonight? I heard from the cook that there was a movie playing behind the old school."

The head of the base had put Taz and Penny at work in the kitchen. Taz quickly found out that while Penny seemed to have a natural talent with cooking, she did not. The cook made Taz do all the physical labor: carrying boxes, trying to figure out how the hell the refrigerator was supposed to be hooked up to the power lines, and sometimes even butchering chickens in the dirty courtyard. Needless to say, she despised it.

"Umm….I would like to…but, well…ummm…"

"What is it Penny? Jou have a date?" Taz teased, a wicked grin spreading across her face.

Penny blushed a dark red. "Sorta. Yeah. I guess."

Taz smiled again, an impish look in her eyes. "Oh, _¿verdad?_ When?"

"Now. Bye." Penny said quickly, and fled the room.

Taz watched her go, and then collapsed back onto her bed. _What am I going to do now? _

Up was doing paperwork, and if he fell behind, the Commander would have his head. The only other Cadets at the base were Anna and Sam. Anna was perfectly nice, but was also almost five older than her, and only wanted to talk about physics and some obscure branch of math. Sam seemed to always be hitting on her. Spending time with him would just encourage that. _No. I do not want that_. She shuddered_. Who else...?_

_Arg. Screw this_. She jumped off her bed and started to leave the room. Up could handle talking to her for a couple minutes. That wouldn't put him too far behind, right?

She wandered through the hallways, trying to remember how to get to Up's room. _Mierda_. _Was it room 3234 or 4233? _

Finally, by sheer luck, she ran into Anna, her arms full of papers.

"Anna! _Hola_!" She called. "Do jou remember Lieutenant Up's room number?"

Anna gave her a funny look, but pointed down the hallway. "I was just picking up paperwork there. It's the seventh room on the right."

"_Gracias_!" Taz said. Anna nodded, and started to go. "Wait…Anna… jou do know that heels aren't allowed in the base?"

Anna blushed. "Yeah. I know… I have a date."

"Oh. _Adios_."

_Was everyone going out tonight? _She thought as she counted seven doors. Before she knocked, she looked at the room number. 8249. Oh.

"Who is it?" Someone called, not opening the door.

"_Bonsoir, Monsieur_. Eet ees me, Madame Antoinette. I got your phone call." She whispered, in a terrible French accent.

The door suddenly opened. "I'm sorry Miss, but I think you have the wrong…" He looked down and saw Taz, who was trying very, very hard not to laugh.

"Can I come in, _Monsiuer_?" She asked, eyes dancing.

"Damn it Taz! Yes, as long as you promise not to do that again. Promise?"

"_Sí_. I promise."

As soon as she got inside his room, she started to laugh. "Come on, Up. It was funny. Admit it. Jou should have seen the look on jour face!"

He took a look at her, and couldn't help but laugh as well. "Yes, fine. I admit it. It was funny. But, what if this wasn't my room?"

That hadn't crossed her mind. "Umm…I'd run away?"

Up shook his head, and then sat back down on the couch, and continued to read a book.

"I thought jou had paperwork to do."

"Between you and me, I finished it earlier today. I wanted to get out of kitchen duty."

"Oh. So, jou can talk to me instead of reading, right?"

"How about we watch a movie instead, Madame Antoinette?"

"_Sí. Pero_, I will only watch a movie with jou if jou don't call me Madame Antoinette. _¿Claro?_"

He nodded, switched on the television and started scrolling through movies. "I only have old movies. Sorry. We can watch _Harry Potter, Star Wars, The Karate Kid_…"

Taz broke in. "_The Karate Kid_. That was my papa's favorite movie. I used to watch it with him."

Up glanced at her. "Are you sure you want to watch it?"

"Yes."

"Okay, then."

He selected _The Karate Kid_, and settled back to watch it.

. . .

As the closing credits scrolled across the screen, he said, "That was a great movie. I had forgotten how much I like it."

She didn't answer.

"Taz? You okay?" He looked down at her. Oh. Sometime during the movie she had fallen asleep.

Carefully standing up, as not to wake her, he walked over to the television set and switched it off.

"Taz?" He whispered, half hoping she'd wake up. No such luck. With a sigh, he crossed the room to a closet, pulling out a faded gray blanket and draped it over her. If anyone decided to do a surprise room check, they'd both get in a shitload of trouble. It was against every G.L.E.E rule put in place to let any junior Ranger sleep in the room of their superior. But, this base was running on a skeleton staff. He highly doubted that anyone would even notice she was gone.

And, he wasn't sure of her room number anyways.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** I just really, really, really wanted to thank everyone who reviewed. Seeing your reviews really make my day. Thank you so much. And, a reviewed asked if Penny and Specs were the same person. I wanted to clear that up. I have not introduced any of the other characters from the play except Taz and Up. Penny, Anna and Sam aren't Krayonder, Tootsie Noodles or Specs. They are original characters. :D

Also, I'm going to do some shameless self-promotion here. If you have a tumblr and like Lauren Lopez, I have a blog. It's loloequalslife. tumblr. com (just take out the spaces.)

**Also, I still am looking for title recommendations. I really don't like the title I have right now. So, if any of you people who are good at titling could help me, at all, it would be greatly appreciated. If you do suggest a title, and I like it and subsequently choose it, I'll write you a one shot. **

**One more note. This story will be on REAL hiatus from July 22-August 17. I will be at summer camp, and there is a really, really strict no electronics policy. There will be absolutely NO uploads during that month-ish. Don't worry, I'm NOT abandoning it. I'm just on hiatus. There should be at least one more (or hopefully two or three more) chapters before that. I'm just going to start telling you in advance. **

I'm not 100% sure if I like this chapter. I wrote it... four or five times. The reason it's getting posted is that I was sick of writing similar things over and over.. :P So, if you could review and tell me if it's okay or not, I'd really appreciate it! I'll end this author's note before it becomes longer than the chapter...

DISCLAIMER: I still don't own Starship. You all already know that.

* * *

Taz was in the kitchen, swearing loudly at an oven that Cook Simons had insisted she had to hook up to the base's electricity before lunch. She had twenty minutes left. And no idea what the hell she was doing.

"I signed up to be a fucking Starship Ranger, not a damn-" She forgot the English word. So, instead she just kicked the oven, and started swearing again. A blue light flickered on.

"What the fuck?" Taz muttered, staring in amazement at the light. "How did…?" She shrugged, and started to fool around with the exposed wires in the back of oven. But, even when she connected the ones of same size, same color, even the same damn length, nothing more happened.

"_DIOS MUERTO_! HOW THE FUCK DO I DO THIS DAMN-"

"Erm…Taz?"

Taz turned around, and saw Penny, who was fighting back laughter.

"What's so funny, Penny?" She asked, her voice with a dangerous edge.

"Nothing, Taz. Nothing."

Taz scowled, and gave the oven a kick. The blue light flicked back off. "JOU DAMN OVEN! GO TO HELL! SEE IF I GIVE A FU-"

"Taz!" Penny yelled. "Commander Green needs to talk to us. Now. C'mon."

They walked to the Commander's office in silence. Well, almost silence. Taz was muttering various swears under her breath. Penny was sure the word "oven" was mentioned multiple times.

Finally, they reached the Commander's office, and with a nervous glance at Taz, Penny knocked.

"Ah, yes. Hello girls." The Commander said, with a slight smile. "Now, I need to speak to you individually. Which one of you is Cadet Beck?"

Penny raised her hand slightly, and Commander Green motioned for her to come into his office. "Now, Cadet." He addressed Taz. "I'm going to ask you to wait out here until I've finished with Cadet Beck."

Penny gave Taz a worried look, and disappeared into Commander Green's office. Ten minutes passed. Then twenty. Taz started using an ugly painting of woman with a half-smile as a target. She hit it three times with a knife that had been strapped inside her boot, until a man with a purple mustache walked by and gave her a disapproving look. And then took her knife.

Thirty minutes. Taz looked around the room. It wasn't really a room. More of a hallway. It was empty, although it was obvious that other paintings had hung on the walls.

_Where did they go?_ She wondered. _Is the G.L.E.E that desperate? Selling paintings? _

Finally, finally, Penny opened the door, looking pale.

"Your turn, Taz." She whispered.

Taz gave Penny a hard look. "What happened to jou?"

"Can't tell. Better go in."

"Um…okay." She started to walk in. "Oh, Penny? If jou see a man with a purple mustache, could jou get my knife back from him?"

Without waiting for an answer, she walked into the office.

"Good afternoon, Cadet Taz."

Taz saluted, and stood at attention.

"At ease. Please take a seat. We have some…ah…serious things to discuss."

Taz sat, quite confused. "If Cook Simons told jou that I broke the dishwasher, that's not my fault. The damn thing was already broken. Same with the oven, and the-"

Commander Green cut her off. "No, no. In case you didn't know, G.L.E.E is…well, we've fallen on some hard times. In fact, this base will be closed within the next six months due to budget cuts. Four of the five remaining Academies have been closed, and the last one will be closed next week. Not only that, but we've been loosing Ensigns and all higher-ranking officers at alarming rates. So, as a decision made by all Commanders and Captains, it has been ordered that any cadet with at least one month of training will be sent into active duty."

This took a minute to sink in. "Jou…jou mean I will be a Starship ranger?"

He nodded. "Well, yes, hypothetically. However, Cadet Taz, you are a different case."

Taz frowned. "I can do it. I could beat up most of the _idiotas_ back at the Academy. Is it because-"

The Commander raised his hand, stopping Taz's voice halfway through the sentence. "No, I'm not doubting your ability. Well, to begin with, that was a matter I had thought of, simply because of your age. But Lieutenant Up assured me that you are capable of war. No, this is a issue of your age."

Taz started to talk again, but Green didn't let her get a word out.

"Cadet, keep your mouth shut. It is a requirement that all Rangers have their high school requirements complete. Now, with most Rangers, that isn't an issue. However, you are much younger than the average Cadet. So, as a…compromise has been made. Captain Maloney, who is in charge of this base and a few others, has agreed to let you take any test necessary in a month's time. The required classes are English, history, a second language…"

Taz broke in. "Can I take Spanish?"

"…science, and a math class. And, yes, you can take Spanish. We for math, we can only give you the calculus test. It's the lowest level test you can take and still get your diploma. Any questions, Cadet?"

"No sir."

"One more thing. Cadet Beck, and Cadet Anna Young have agreed to tutor you. Cadet Beck can help with history, and Cadet Young can help you with any science classes. We're working on finding someone to help with math and the remaining classes. However, many of the G.L.E.E's instructors have been…let go of, and we are finding it difficult to find anyone."

Taz nodded, and saluted.

"Dismissed."

She left the room and almost ran into an Ensign with red hair and more freckles than she could count.

"Excuse me, but could you direct me to…"

"Fuck off, jou _hijo de puta_." Taz snarled.

The Ensign watched her in amazement as she stalked down the hallway.

_Fucking calculus. Calculus. That was all that was standing in the way of her and being a Starship Ranger. _

Taz stomped down the hallway, and jammed the key into her bedroom door. Penny was lying on her bed, writing something with a smile on her face. As soon as Taz entered, she blushed and quickly turned over the paper. Still red, she looked up at Taz.

"So, how'd it go?" She asked.

"Fine." Taz forced a fake smile on her face. "Just great."

_I'm never going to be able to do it. I'm going to fail that test. I'm never going to be a Starship Ranger. _

She walked across the room and gave the dresser a violent kick.

It didn't help. And, now her boots were scuffed.

"You sure you're okay?" Penny said suspiciously.

"_Callar_!" Taz screamed. "Just shut up Penny! I'm fine!"

Penny watched Taz storm around the room, mumbling various Spanish curses under her breath.

Shaking her head, Penny returned to her letter. Taz would tire out eventually. And leave Penny to clean up the broken glass. Right on cue came the sound of shattering china.

Without looking up, Penny said, "If you touch my stuff, you're dead."

* * *

**A/N:** And, yes, Taz was using the Mona Lisa as a target.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** This is complete filler. I'm really sorry, but I have to get through this before I can get to any action. Also.. this WILL be the last update until the about 20th or August, unless I get my act together and somehow write a chapter tomorrow. But.. that is extremely unlikely, so...there is a 99% chance this is your last update for a while. I'm very sorry. Don NOT think I have abandoned this story. No, I will keep writing at camp, I will just have to do it with pen and paper, versus my laptop. Um...if anyone wants to submit a prompt, I'll write it at camp, and upload it later. i will need stuff to write at camp, as there's only so many book I can bring.

Oh, and a reviewed asked if purple mustached man is relevant to the plot. Nope. He actually has a story about how he came into being. Would you like to hear it? it's short. I was walking downtown with my friends maybe a month ago. And, across the street was a man with a purple mustache. It was the coolest thing in the world. So.. purple mustache man is an OC. Not Space-Claw.

Also, I have yet to introduce any other characters from the play, besides Taz and Up.

Also.. I apologize for the somewhat last update. I'm very, very, very sorry. I meant to update a couple days ago, but...this chapter just didn't work for the longest time.

**DISCLAIMER**: I still don't own them. I DO own Penny and Anna, Commander Green, and Sam, who has so far yet to make an appearance.

* * *

The only good thing about studying three years of school in a month was that she was excused from all duties in the kitchen. Everything else sucked.

"I think you finally got it." Penny sighed, rubbing her eyes. "Now, we'll go over it again tomorrow, and then go onto the next chapter, okay?"

Taz nodded, and slammed shut the book with a satisfied smile. "Does that mean we are finished?"

Penny gave her friend a weak smile. "Until tomorrow. I'm going out now. After you finish looking over that, you should get out too. You've been in here since you woke up."

"I will, promise. But, I need to look at the science texts. I need to pass this test, Penny. Could jou stop by Anna's room and ask her to bring me the textbook _¿por favorcito?_"

To Taz's surprise, Penny blushed and stammered, "Um… I think Anna's going out too."

"Oh, _¿verdad?" _

"Yeah. Um…I'll see you later, okay?"

Taz nodded, and opened a new textbook, slightly confused by Penny's behavior. But, she didn't dwell on it long. It took every fiber of her being to memorize the various dates of robot attacks, the names of famous generals that died in battles hundreds of years ago, the numbers of robots decommissioned in the many, brief times of peace. After what seemed like only an hour or two, someone knocked on the door.

"Jou have a key Penny, remember?"

The person outside the door knocked again. Taz yelled, "Dammit Penny! JOU HAVE A KEY! I'M TRYING TO WORK!"

"Um…it's not Penny."

Annoyed, Taz slammed the book shut and stomped to the door. Throwing it open, she exclaimed, "I said that no one bothers me _o yo les matará!_ I am trying to…_"_

Standing there was Lieutenant Commander Up, holding a bowl of food.

"Erm…no one had seen ya since last night and I…um…thought you might be hungry…" Up awkwardly motioned to the bowl of stew.

Taz quickly grabbed the stew. "_Sí, gracias_. But… why did jou bring me food?_ Cena no ha comenzado_."

Up looked slightly confused, an expression that looked odd on his normally fierce face.

"I mean…dinner has not started."

Up gazed at her in astonishment. "Open the curtains Taz."

"_Qué?_"

"Open them."

Taz walked across the room, and threw open the curtains. It was pitch black outside. Somehow, night had fallen.

"It's nearly nine at night. You haven't eaten all day. Sit and eat." He pushed her into a seated position onto the bed.

"What are jou, _mi madre_?" Taz asked, but stayed sitting.

As she ate, Up wandered around the room, stopping by her desk. He sifted through papers, reading her notes and flipping through textbooks.

"You're wrong, you know?"

"What?" She said through a mouthful of stew. "I am not!"

"Yes you are. The first robot attacks happened in 2032, not 2023. And…." He flipped over a couple more sheets of paper. "You do know that there were only 13 causalities in the first attack."

Taz jumped up, knocking the bowl onto the floor. "What?"

"Yeah. In fact…" Up scanned the page again. "You've got most of this wrong. What textbook were you using?"

"That one. The one on my desk."

He picked up the book, and started flipping through it. "This is really out of date. It was published 30 years ago. Dead god, Taz, where did you get this?

"Um…the Commander Green gave it to Penny, who gave it to me."

Up dropped the book onto the desk. "Damn the G.L.E.E. It's falling apart. They can't even afford new books. Here, if you give me this textbook, I can bring you one of my old ones. Given, it's not the most up-to-date, but it's at least got semi-correct information."

"Gracias."

Taz threw herself down into the desk chair. "Jou think all of this is wrong?"

Up nodded.

"_Mierda_. I have to redo this, and I still have to learn math and science. I'm going to fail this test." Taz moaned, holding her head in her hands.

"Taz, truthfully, I don't the G.L.E.E can afford to fail you."

"_Qué?_" She shook her head. "I mean…what?"

Up picked back up the textbook, and waved it around, barely missing Taz's head. "I mean… look at this! They don't have enough money to buy textbooks from the same decade! And, have you noticed that all we've been eating for the last month is stew and oatmeal? They don't have enough money to even pay me properly anymore. Hell Taz, even if you failed the test, they'd take you. They can't afford to train new Ensigns. And you're damn good. They can't afford to lose you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And, they really look at the test results anyways. How else do you think all the idiots from Farm Planet got in?"

Taz laughed. "I guess so. But…jou mean I don't really have to learn all this?"

"It would be a good idea to know a little of it. Like math. You need to know math."

Taz groaned.

"And…also, for example…" He started to read another sheet of her notes. "It would be useful to know that AstroBoy started the Robot Wars."

Taz snatched the paper away from him. "I know that!" She scanned the sheet. "See? Right there!" She jammed the paper in his face.

Up laughed at her sudden anger. "I know, I know. I was just testing you."

Taz scowled, and threw the textbook at his head.

"Hey Taz."

"_¿Qué idiota?_"

"Violence is not the answer."

She tried to throw her knife at his arm, but he caught her wrist and plucked the knife out of her fingers. "Wouldn't want to kill me, now would you?"

"_Sí, quisiera que mucho_."

"English, please."

"Yes. I would like that very much." Taz repeated, twisting her arm out of his grasp.

"Ah…but…there's something that may change your mind."

Aggravated by him, Taz tried to take her knife back, but Up held it above her head.

"Give me my knife back, jou _hijo de puta_." She snarled.

"I'll give it back if it stays away from me. Okay?"

"Sí."

Up handed her the knife, which immediately disappeared into her boot. "Now, I was going to tell you something. Commander Green messaged me earlier in the day, telling me that I had the privilege of spending time with you to teach you math. Specifically calculus. Doesn't that sound fun?" He pulled a thick textbook from his bag and placed it on the table.

"Fun? Fun? Jou think that this…this torture is fun?"

"It's called sarcasm, Taz."

"Oh. I knew that. I was…I was…testing jou."

She reached down and pulled the knife from her boot again. Before Up could react, she stabbed the textbook.

"Taz! What did you do that for?"

"Jou said I couldn't come near jou with the knife. I had to stab something. And…jour calculus book was right there."

"But…you've destroyed the book!"

Taz smirked and pulled the knife out. "Pity."

* * *

**A/N: **A friend of mine suggested I call this story, "A Time for War". Your reactions..? Yes, no? If you don't like it, do you have a better title?


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